


Things Take Time

by NostalgiaMonster



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Slow Burn, Undertale Monsters on the Surface, post barrier breaking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-25 10:28:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18259421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NostalgiaMonster/pseuds/NostalgiaMonster
Summary: You've always been open to new experiences, so when the barrier to the Underground broke you were excited by all the new possibilities; food, music, friends...Unfotunately you seem to be caught in the middle of a fair portion of the Human population wanting their home all to themselves, whilst the new Monster population seem to simply tolerate you.You don't know why, but you have a feeling that at least one of them might change their minds.





	1. Liberty Walk

The world was buzzing with activity, as it had been for over a year now. The barrier to the Monster world had been broken and hundreds of new topside residents had spilled out onto the Earth’s surface, ready to face the new world.  
  At first humanity was terrified and apprehensive, understandably; the history of the Human/Monster war wasn’t one that was widely known, any documentation of it had been destroyed or lost almost thousands of years ago, not long after the war itself. Anybody nowadays who believed in the tales of Monsters and magic was deemed a crackpot conspiracy theorist and simply ignored. The legend, however, gathered a small cult following that spanned the globe.

You had never heard of the legend of the Underground or its residents until the day the barrier broke. It was a ceremonious affair, to say the least. Locals that lived not too far from the base of Mt. Ebott say they saw a bright beam of light rushing from somewhere atop the mountain. A while after that a large crowd was seen advancing towards the nearby town, their heavy footfall making the ground shake as they marched. As with many things however, the events of the barrier breaking have been greatly exaggerated.

You watched, along with the rest of the world as people flew into a blind panic as the Monsters approached.  
  There were creatures of all shapes and sizes and almost none of them were the same. You noticed how banged up they all looked, though. There was a disgruntled looking blue fish woman who was wearing an eye patch, a tall skeleton- she noted, _literal_ skeleton who had a large scar across his left eye... socket. And a large goat man, who was dressed in long, regal robes and had one large horn curling out of his hair... fur?

  At the front of the crowd was a child. A Human child, leading this expanse of Monsters through the streets. A few Humans tried to attack the Monsters but they didn’t react, they just kept walking. Some of the more ballsy reporters asked where they were walking to, but they gave no answer, keeping stern looks upon their faces. One reporter asked the small child, to which their response was “Home”.

Days later the child was identified as Frisk, an orphan that had disappeared weeks before, but nobody had bothered looking for them. The Foster service that had been responsible for looking after them collectively blushed a deep shade of red across all social media platforms, apologising to no one in particular about their disregard for the child’s safety. They publicly offered to take Frisk back into care and find them a new family, but the child refused, simply stating that they already had one.

That was the last anyone saw of any Monsters for a while, but not the last that was heard. A co-worker struck up a ‘lively debate’ one morning which quickly and aggressively made it very clear the people you no longer wanted to associate with.

 

_“This is insane! My sister lives over there, she’s got kids! What do we plan on doing when they flip out and start attacking people in the streets?”_

 

_“Chill out, Lucas, they’ve been around a solid two months. If they were gonna attack anybody, don’t you think they’d have done it by now?”_

 

_“You don’t get it! They want us to feel safe for now, so they can catch us by surprise. We have to strike pre-emptively, get rid of them while we still have the chance.”_

 

_“Do you really think that’s going to happen? You want to march on a group of innocents and kill them because you’re afraid they’ll do it first? ”_

 

_“That’s not what I mean-“_

 

_“Then what do you mean by ‘getting rid’ of them?”_

 

Lucas didn’t have an answer.

 

 You quit a few days later. There was a period of unemployment that lasted for a few weeks. Eventually you found work again, but it was always temp jobs, or you ran into the same anti-Monster attitude again. Same shit, different species.  
  It’s not that you would usually quit every job in which you ran into some racist asshole, however since the barrier broke, it was as if the regular brand of human racism and this new monster flavour racism had to combined to create racism 2.0: super racist and it made your head hurt.  
   
   Monsters started moving into your city and it became more and more common to see them out and about. Even though they were still clearly apprehensive about this new world, it was easy to see they were adapting.

One thing humanity hadn’t been expecting was the plethora of new experiences Monsters would bring with them; new friendships, new food... New job opportunities. You welcomed them all with open, excited arms.


	2. There's an Intro Going On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You may have just landed yourself a position as the first executive assisstant to a rather popular Monster performer.  
> She's not scary, per se, but her presence makes you feel like you're floating.
> 
> You share in your hopes for Human and Monster kind in this new world.

You found yourself, a year later, in the centre of the city in a small but luscious office space somewhere towards the top of a stretching skyscraper. You were attending an interview at the home of a Monster named Stella, who had shockingly rocketed to musical fame in a mere few weeks of being topside. There had been other Monsters who had earned themselves a following, seemingly overnight, for having a variety of different talents. Of course, it helped that they had been popular Underground, but the fact that Humans flocked to them so excitedly was surprising, considering there were still large groups of people all over who opposed the integration.

Stella was a sea Monster, as she had put it herself and was noticeably very tall, even when sat down, around eight feet you would have guessed. She had long, dirty-blonde hair that was frizzy and untamed, but in an effortlessly stylish way, her scales were a murky teal colour that had a subtle, iridescent sheen to them and when the light caught them, they shone so many different colours.  
   The Monster moved so gracefully when she spoke, her gesticulations were large and sweeping. It reminded you of ocean waves and she found herself transfixed by the movements. It wasn’t hard to see how she kept the attention of a large crowd.

“What experience do you have that you believe would be valuable to this position?” Stella asked, interrupting you from your thoughts. You mentally shook yourself and turned your attention back to the conversation.

“Oh- well, I was employed for several years at a small, but well established publications company. During my time there I was charged with a number of different responsibilities...” You had been hopping from job to job for almost a year now and were getting pretty sick of it. One afternoon you came across an advert on a job search website that had said a Monster was looking for a personal assistant; someone to help with scheduling, social media presence and a variety of other activities. There was no name, no photo or address, but when Annabelle called the phone number that was attached, a gentle, eerie voice answered. After a few quick questions the voice gave her a date and an address. Hence, she found herself here, sitting across from a very pretty but haunting sea Monster.

“Although most of my work has been based around interfacing with a handful of clients at a time, I know I have the focus required to give a single client my full care and attention.” You concluded. After the sixth consecutive interview you had your spiel completely committed to memory.

“That all sounds excellent,” Stella spared a glance down at your resume laid on the glass-top desk that sat between you. “... and you say you have experience in supporting a social media account?” She folded her hands together and placed them on top of the desk. She had webbed fingers, and you were willing to bet she had webbed feet too.

“Yeah, we all shared the responsibility of that, but it was one task in particular that I really enjoyed doing. I think being able to maintain a more personal account would be even more fun.” When Stella smiled she flashed rows of white, pointed teeth that closely resembled the jaws of a shark.   
  You were almost immediately gripped with fear, but you quickly reminded yourself that she didn’t invite you here to hurt you.

“Well, Y/N, I do very much like what I’ve heard from you today. I do have a few more interviews arranged, but I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you.” You blushed when Stella rose from her seat and shot her a wink. “Interestingly enough, you are the only human that applied for this job. I don’t take it personally, I know that Monster kind has a journey ahead itself before Humans are entirely comfortable around us.”

“I know not everyone was entirely thrilled about the barrier breaking, but in the big picture the most important thing now is that Monsters are free.” Stella smiled. It was a genuine smile, but a sad one. “Who knows, maybe in another year or so, more Humans will have jobs where we work with Monsters, and vice versa. Having a Human as your P.A could be end up being a significant turning point in our people’s relations.” You rose from your seat and offered your hand to Stella, who took it gently and shook.

“I never did ask; why did you leave your previous job, Y/N?”

“Uh... To be frank, Miss-“ You hesitated, realising with quick panic you didn’t know Stella’s surname.

“Just called me Stella.”

“Ah. To be frank, Stella, I quit not long after the barrier broke. There were too many people there who held some rather unsavoury opinions about... your kind. Believe me when I say, though, that I think it’s a significant improvement.” You chuckled awkwardly and felt Stella’s grip on your hand tighten. When you looked up she saw that the Monster was smiling widely and her black eyes were shining.

“I think I’m going to enjoy working with you, Y/N.”

“Me too, Stella.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing my Undertale oc, Stella the Sea Monster!  
> Having her be a main character is very self-indulgent of me, but I love her a lot. I hope you'll like her too.
> 
> Don't worry, we'll get to the canon characters in the next chapter ;)


	3. Freak the Freak Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You step out of Stella's office building and are almost immediately met with your test of patience for the day.

As you exited the office building you noticed the area was heavily populated by Monsters. You had never spent much time in this neighbourhood specifically, but you lived in the inner city yourself and had noticed in the last year, that the number of Human locals had decreased. When you looked closer at the passersby there were still one or two Humans, but it occurred to you that the majority had probably left their homes and offices once Monsters had moved in.  
  You saw another human, a man about your age, walking in your general direction. At first, you ignored him, but it was soon evident he was approaching you directly. You aren’t one for having random conversations with strangers in the street, so as you turned to walk away you rifled through your bag in order to look busy. Maybe he wouldn’t bother you.

“Excuse me!”

Crap.

“Excuse me, miss!” He sounded frantic and husky, also maybe  like he smoked two twenty-packs a day. Great, he was either drunk or high. Or both.  
   You heaved a sigh and turned to face him. When you realised how close he was stood you took a step back, but he stepped forward, maintaining the uncomfortable distance between you.

“Can I help you?” You asked reluctantly. The man looked somewhat dishevelled; he was wearing an old army surplus jacket, stonewashed jeans with holes in the knees and grubby looking work boots that weren’t even laced up. He was also wearing a baseball cap which he was attempting to hide his face under, it looked rather new compared to the rest of his clothing.   
  Despite his attempts you could just see the lower half of his face; he had a short, patchy beard that framed uncomfortably dry lips, you could see the peeling skin and it made you face scrunch up in disgust.

“What is your business in this building today?” He gestured aggressively to the apartment building where your interview with Stella had been.

“Sorry, I don’t think that’s any of your business.” You scoffed.

“Are you aware that this building is now solely inhabited by Monsters?”

“Um, no. Is that important?”

“Are you aware that Monsters are putting countless Humans in danger with their very presence?” He continued to advance on her as he questioned her; there was an unfriendly curl on his lips that you didn’t like. You turned away from him and began hurriedly walking away.

“I don’t think that’s true at all-“

“Have you read any of the texts that document the Human/Monster war?” He suddenly lurched forward and grabbed your upper arm, spinning you back around to face him.

“Hey! Get off me!” You thrashed about in a sudden panic, but his grip remained tight on your arm.

“You need to know the truth about Monster kind and the threat they-“ He was cut off by a gloved hand placing itself roughly on the arm that was holding onto you.

The two of you looked up and saw a Monster towering over you, he was silhouetted by the sun behind him, but you could see he was a Skeleton. He was dressed in all black, apart from his red gloves and he was glaring down at the man in the cap with dark eye sockets. There was a scar across his left eye that stretched from the middle of his forehead to his cheekbone. It was that detail that made you think you recognised him from somewhere, but you couldn’t place him.

“LET GO, _HUMAN_.” The Monster growled. His voice was deep, yet sharp.

“ _You_ let go!” He wrenched his arm out of the Monster’s grasp and turned his attention back to you. “Do you see what I mean? Filthy Monsters.” The skeleton snarled in response and you could see his hands shaking with what was presumably rage.

“I SUGGEST YOU LEAVE.”The Human defiantly frowned up at him, but you could see he was trembling ever so slightly. “NOW.”  The Monster was visibly seething; the absence of skin or flesh made it look like he was permanently scowling, and his teeth were large and sharp, much sharper than Stella’s.  
   You watched as the anti-Monster lunatic huffed and ran away down the street. His cap flew off of his head at one point, when he stopped to turn around and picked it up he watched you and the skeleton for a few moments but soon continued his escape.

“Thank you,” You turned to your rescuer. “That hasn’t happened before and he was getting aggressive.”

“IT’S FINE.” He responded. “ARE YOU HURT?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“GOOD.” He turned and walked away briskly, towards Stella’s building. Maybe he worked there?

“Wait, what’s your name?” You called after him, but he didn’t respond. “Um, goodbye!”

How rude.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theeeeeeeeeere's dat boi!  
> Tall boi.
> 
> Rude boi.


	4. The Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You ponder over the upcoming trials of your new job.  
> And receive even MORE unwanted attention.

It was only a couple of days after the interview when Stella called to confirm you had succeeded in becoming her new P.A. You were in your apartment when you heard your cell phone begin to ring and when you recognised the incoming number, your stomach flooded with butterflies. Stella apologetically explained that there wouldn’t be an adjustment period, as there was a Monster Music festival to be held within the next few days.

“That sounds incredible! Who’s putting it together?” You had never been much of a festival person. Thousands of sweaty, drunk people all packed into a tiny field? Loud music blaring from all directions? Smoke from greasy food stalls polluting the air? Hard pass.

“Myself and a few friends came up with idea a couple of months ago.” Stella proceeded to fill you in on what your responsibilities during the set up process would be. It all seemed easy enough, but you were smart enough to know that it probably wasn’t.  
  You assured Stella that you would be able to handle each task in a swift and efficient manner. You weren’t exactly in charge of organising the event itself, but you were given the responsibility of delivering Stella’s set list, her costumes and accompanying her throughout the event. Maybe you were being overly zealous about her new position, but being the executive assistant to one of the most popular Monster musicians was just the first thing to be getting excited about.

When the phone call ended, you made a note of the dates Stella had shared in your phone and also added her number into the contacts library; ★STELLA ★. They were going to meet tomorrow morning at the location of the event so that both Stella and Annabelle could familiarise themselves with the layout of the festival and be introduced to some of the people who would be working and performing there.

After that, you went about your day as usual.  
  Whilst brewing a large pot of coffee, you leant idly against the kitchen counter scrolling through various social media accounts. Nothing interesting was popping up until you received a message from your friend Grace;

_Have you seen this??? https://sapiosapiens.com/dailyvid/monsterassault/_

You followed the link and instantly regretted it. Before you even hit the ‘play’ button, you were greeted by a thumbnail of your face from a very unflattering angle. Stella’s office building was in the background and you were wearing your interview outfit from the other day.

“ _Oh, that rat bastard_.” You muttered.  
  
  What followed was a very close up shot of your face as the man from outside Stella’s apartment block barraged her with questions about Monsters. Eventually it led to the tall Skeleton intervening, but conveniently cut off before the Human had turned on his heels and ran. The view count at the bottom of the video read that there had been just over 28,000 views since it had been uploaded.  You rolled her eyes and groaned in frustration before replying;

_Y/N: Don’t need to, I was there. He edited out the part where he ran away at the end though lol_

_Grace: Ugh. What a creep. Did you know that monster?_

_Y/N: No, I tried to ask his name but he just asked if I was okay then left._

_Grace: Shame. He’s kind of cute_

_Y/N: Omg Grace_

You chuckled and put your phone down on the counter and poured a hot cup of coffee. For the rest of the day you continually received messages like that from family and friends, Monsters and Humans alike.  
  The Monsters were incredibly apologetic that it had happened, but you reassured them it wasn’t their fault. Existence calls for no apology. Even though you had the concern and support of many, you found yourself being drawn back to the video throughout the day. At one point you made the mistake of reading some of the comments, of which there were plenty; ‘dumb bitch’ and ‘Monster lover’ appeared to be favourites.

A little later in the day, Annabelle received a frantic call from her Mother asking her if she was alright, if the man had hurt her;

“You could report him for assault, you know!”

“Mom, the Monster would’ve gotten into trouble for grabbing _him_.”

“You can’t let people you don’t know grab you like that in the streets!”

“Mom, I wouldn’t let someone I _did_ know grab me like that.”

After you said goodbye and hung up, you saw that you had missed fifteen calls from different withheld numbers and received an onslaught of messages on social media, each displaying their disgust with varying levels of severity. One in particular stood out:

_If I can find you online, I can find you irl, monster lover._

  
  You stared down at the phone screen for a long time, re-reading the message over and over again. You clenched the device tightly, angry that this probably empty threat had scared you as much as it did. You’d always been open about supporting Monsters, but even when you’d debated with co-workers or old friends, they’d never been so... aggressive. Then again, they never had the luxury of being an anonymous face on the internet.

You plugged your phone into charge in the bedroom and went to sit in a little wicker armchair in the corner by the window. The yellow net curtains had been left draw all day, and now, as the sun was beginning to set, they were casting a soft, golden glow over the room.  
  You reached to your side and picked up an old acoustic guitar that was propped up against the wardrobe, your father had gifted it to you when you were a lot younger and you’d been playing music ever since. But only ever picked up the guitar when you needed the comfort and today, having been called every name under the sun, by complete strangers online, you felt it was a good time to lull yourself back into a somewhat serene state of mind.

You began plucking away a cathartic tune;

_“Look inside_  
Look inside your tiny mind  
Now look a bit harder  
'Cause we're so uninspired  
So sick and tired of all the hatred you harbour”

You couldn’t help but laugh smugly to yourself. Yeah, this is what you needed.

_“Fuck you (fuck you)_  
Fuck you very, very much  
'Cause we hate what you do  
And we hate your whole crew  
So, please don't stay in touch...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's a goddamn death threat, ain't it?  
> Aah, it's probably nothing...
> 
> Right?
> 
> -
> 
> BAM! Songfic.  
> Because I'm very self-indulgent.
> 
> The song used at the end of the chapter is Fuck You by Lily Allen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFE6qQ3ySXE  
> And here's the acoustic cover so you have more of an idea what it would sound like when reader plays it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nahdHLIxlLg


	5. RANT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your first official task as Stella's executive assisstant is... picking up litter?  
> At least you have someone to chat with while you do it...

When you woke up the next day you immediately noticed you were still sat in your little wicker chair. You had fallen asleep at some point, cradling your guitar. You would have probably been more taken back had this been the first time it had happened, but it wasn’t, so you chuckled heartily and started your day with a brisk shower.  
  You opted for cooler water, as you’d been quite warm when you’d woken up. Before you hopped in the shower you checked the weather report for the day and noted the higher temperatures towards the middle of the day.  
  As you stood under the rushing water you pondered over the threatening message you’d received not long ago. Obviously you’d been taken back, to put it lightly... okay you were terrified. Nobody had ever threatened your life before! You didn’t think you’d done anything worth a death threat, but obviously the people watching that video thought differently.

Once you were clean and dried you threw on a linen button down shirt and a pair of breezy palazzo pants. Stylish, professional and weather appropriate to boot. Following your healthy breakfast of coffee and half a banana, you shoved on strappy wedges, grabbed your bag and headed out the door.

 After an hour commute to the outskirts of the city, you arrived at the address Stella had specified. You parked across the road from a group of Monsters that were waiting outside an old, wrought iron fence. As you approached, you noticed that the venue for the festival was, in fact, a large, overgrown field. The paint on the fence was chipping and the metal underneath had a light crusting of rust on it. In the distance you could see fallen trees, the remains of old campfires and the place was covered in litter. Overall the place was unkempt, to say the least, and you assumed that part of the festival set-up was to make this place look respectable.

A few of the Monsters turned to watch as you walked over, you greeted each of them with a friendly smile and an awkward wave. Of the ones who had noticed your arrival the majority of them returned your friendliness with a smile or ‘Hello’. There were a couple of other humans mingling in the small crowd that looked somewhat relieved when you walked up. While you believed you had nothing to fear from the Monsters (no more than another human, anyway), you still understood how intimidating their presence could be. A lot of them were incredibly tall, or had large horns, teeth, claws... There were a lot of extraordinary factors.

  
  Before anybody had the chance to force clunky small-talk a shiny, black limousine pulled up next to the group. A caramel coloured cat Monster hurried out of the driver’s door and made his way to the passenger’s door. When he opened it, a pair of long legs clad in pink, PVC platform heels swung out and landed on the pavement. You watched in awe as a shiny robot emerged from the car; he had four arms and four eyes, two of which were shaded by his voluminous black locks. There were a few excited squeaks as he flashed a dazzling, pointy smile at the small group- finally you recognised him as Mettaton, the performance android from the Underground. Of course! You’d heard so much about him, and pictures and videos had cropped up repeatedly on the internet. Apparently he raised a lot more controversy than other Monster performers.

He was soon followed by Stella, who slid gracefully out of the limousine and dusted off her floor length bohemian style, empire waist dress. When she saw her new P.A she beamed joyfully at you and beckoned you over with her webbed hand. You smiled excitedly and went to stand by Stella’s side.

“Y/N, I’m so glad to see you.” She breathed. She sounded relieved, as if she thought there was a chance you wouldn’t have turned up. Not likely.

“It’s good to see you too, Stella. I’m so excited!” You shared a quiet moment of excitement together, before another figure appeared out of the vehicle.

It was another fish Monster, one that Annabelle didn’t recognise. Her skin was a much darker shade of blue than Stella’s, and her shock of red hair made her stand out in the small crowd. The size of her teeth forced her mouth open slightly, making her grin particularly terrifying.  
  And last, but not least, came a familiar silhouette that you hadn’t expected to see so soon; it was the skeleton that had come to you aid when you had been ambushed by the anti-Monster creep. He closed the door behind himself and moved to stand next to the fish lady, who nudged him and grinned in what was probably meant to be a less menacing manner than was perceived.

“Y/N, this is Undyne and Papyrus.” Stella gestured towards the duo stood next to her. “They’re good friends from the Underground, they’ll be providing security detail for the festival.”

“I-it’s good to meet you both.” You held out a shaking hand towards Undyne and much to your surprise she didn’t hesitate in grabbing it and given you a vigorous, if a bit too firm, handshake.     

“Good to meet you, Y/N.” You cringed, trying to hide your pain from the handshake, but you were intent on making a good first impression, so you grit your teeth and smiled through it. “When Stel told me she’d hired herself a human assistant, I thought she’d lost it.” Undyne beamed down at her and you chuckled nervously.

“Well, I hope that I can help put your uncertainties about humanity at rest, some of them anyway.”

“We’ll see about that, kid. Let’s get through MFest first, right?” Undyne sauntered off confidently into the crowd and began greeting the other Monsters, this mostly consisted of her slapping them on the back and shouting their names (This is how you came to be familiar with most of the people you worked with that day).

You then turned your attention to Papyrus, who had been all but ignoring you since he had stepped out of the car. He glanced at you briefly out of the corner of his eye. It was then that you noticed that his eyes were actually tiny red dots floating in his otherwise empty sockets. His arms were folded across his midriff and his posture was straight, rigidly so. His attire was similar to the y you had first met; skinny black jeans, a pair of worn black boots that looked like army surplus, a deep red turtle neck sweater and a black leather jacket to top off the entire edgy ensemble. All that was missing was a studded belt with a skull shaped belt buckle, although that might have been a tad morbidly ironic.

“Hello again.” You greeted meekly. He grumbled before responding;

“YES. HELLO AGAIN, HUMAN.” At least he remembered you. He didn’t seem as pleased to be meeting again, however, although you weren’t sure why it mattered. Then the words of Grace appeared in your head and you realised you might agree; He _was_ kind of cute... In a scary, intimidating kind of way.

“It’s nice to finally put a name to your face.” There was an awkward silence as he looked at her without turning his head. He raised an eye ridge. “It’s a nice name.”

“YES, IT IS.” With that, he walked away. He had a habit of doing that, apparently. He joined Undyne and Mettaton in greeting the other Monsters. You didn’t realise you’d been holding your breath while you watched him, until Stella came up behind you and put a soft hand on your shoulder.

“He’s not very talkative.” Stella assured.

“No?”

“Not with Humans.”

“Ah.”

The day went on from there almost smoothly, in comparison. Everyone was introduced and told what they would be responsible for during the festival. Leading up to the day, however, there was a lot of work to be done that everyone there had to chip in with. A lot of it was clean up, decorating, setting up the stage and sound equipment.  
  The first priority, in the meantime, was picking up all the litter that was scattered across the large field. Litterpickers were distributed amongst everyone in attendance, even Mettaton and Stella, you were happy to see that they were both above using their ‘celebrity status’ as an excuse not to help out. You took a quick moment to revel in the continuing excitement of being under Stella’s employ.

Undyne and Papyrus pulled open the rusted gate, you winced at the horrid screeching sounds the hinges made. Everybody immediately fanned out and set to work, you decided to stay near to edges of the field, picking the litter from underneath and inside the large hedges growing around the perimeter.  
  You quickly realised you’d made the wrong decision when you noticed multiple chip packets and like stuffed into the tops of the hedges, all of which you were far too short to reach. You looked around hopelessly for a moment before shrugging your bag off of your shoulder, bracing yourself, and jumping up and down trying to reach with your picker.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” You yelped when Papyrus’ voice came from behind you suddenly. You stumbled forward into the hedge.

“Jesus- ow...” You pulled yourself free from the branches and turned to look up at the tall monster. “I, uh- There’s litter at the top and I can’t... reach it.” You laughed awkwardly as you picked leaves off of your clothes. Papyrus glanced upwards at the hedge, then looked back at you.

“I WILL HELP YOU. I AM VERY TALL.” He slid off his jacket and placed it on top of your bag, sat in the grass.

“Oh.” You hadn’t been expecting the offer, but wouldn’t refuse it. “Okay, thanks!”

Papyrus rolled up his sleeves and set to work, you stood beside him holding a garbage bag as he picked all the litter out of the hedge, the whole time you were stealing glimpses of his face and the portion of his hipbone that was exposed every time he reached a bit too high. Ultimately, you were fascinated by the fact you were standing next to a living skeleton, you knew it was probably a lot more complicated, but it was just incredible the way he was held together by seemingly nothing.  
  You pictured one of the old, plastic medical skeletons that would hang in the corner of a high school science lab, obviously a pathetic example of a skeletal structure in comparison to Papyrus. You imagined the way all of his ligaments moved, cooperating with each other and producing movement was much more impressive than any plastic farce that’s ever been manufactured.  
  You watched his feet bend as he stood on his tiptoes; you pictured his metatarsals folding around each other, fitting to the shape of the earth beneath his feet. All the different bones that were so trivial and unsung in the day to day, exposed, free of flesh and sinew, but held together so well, so inexplicably. His toes, his fibula, patella... His pelvis. It kept peeking teasingly over the waistband of his jeans-

“YOU HAVE BEEN STARING AT ME FOR A LONG TIME.” Papyrus’ loud voice interrupted your train of thought and you felt your face set on fire as you immediately averted your gaze.

“Wow, um, I-I’m really sorry, it’s just...” Wait. “Wait, how did you _know_ I was looking at you? Were- were you looking at _me?_ ” There was a pause as he stared at you blankly, then he looked away very quickly and cleared his throat... somehow.

“ABSOLUTELY NOT.” You smiled triumphantly when you saw a curious red blush spread across his cheekbones.

“Okay, I believe you.”  
 As Papyrus continued to pluck away at the hedge you gazed around the lush expanse of the field at everybody, seeing the two races work together made you practically gleeful.

“WHAT ARE YOU SMILING ABOUT?” Papyrus appeared beside you with a questioning look on his face.

“I was just watching everyone work together. Monsters and Humans, it’s nice, y’know? A lot of people don’t think it can happen.”

“A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE RIGHT.”

“What? What does that mean?” Papyrus sighed at you question and rolled his eye lights. “You don’t think it can happen?”

“HUMANS ARE THE ONES THAT TRAPPED US IN THE UNDERGROUND IN THE FIRST PLACE.” He turned to face you, a scowl on his face. “I DON’T LIKE HUMANS, BUT ALL I HAVE TO DO IS TRY NOT TO SLAUGHTER YOU TO GET BY” You balled your fists in defiance; you were more saddened by his outlook than angered.

“That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

“EXCUSE ME, LITTLE GIRL BUT YOU DO NOT KNOW WHERE I COME FROM OR WHAT IT WAS LIKE THERE.” You scoffed at his ‘little girl’ remark, but chose not to address it.

“If you hate Humans so much, what made you stop that guy from harassing me? You could’ve just walked right past and not done a thing.” He didn’t appear to have a response to that, but he also seemed preoccupied by something else behind you.  
  You turned to look in the direction he was glaring, over by the entrance to the field; there was a small group of Humans making their way tentatively through the gate. Some of them were holding picket signs and they were all grumbling angrily.

“STAY HERE.” Papyrus ordered. You scoffed at his command and then proceeded to follow him over to the group. As you approached, it became clear that it was an anti-Monster protest group, some of them were wearing t-shirts with their name; _SapioSapiens_.  
  You recognised the name as the title of the website that had posted the video of you outside Stella’s office building block. You were suddenly filled with an unfamiliar rage as you found herself speeding past Papyrus towards the group. You were greeted by angry faces, including one with a beard that was all too recognisable.

“You!” You threw an angry finger in the direction of the man who had ambushed you. “No hat today? You don’t want to record me kicking your ass?” You laughed when he shrank away and used his picket to try and shield himself.

“Y/N!” Papyrus stormed up behind you and placed his hand on your shoulder.

“What? This is the creep that filmed me and put it on the internet!” You stepped towards him again, Papyrus’ hand still holding onto you firmly. “I got _death threats_ because you! People telling me they’re going to _find me_ and _kill me._ You’re a fucking asshole, you know that?”

“And you’re a Monster-loving, slut!” Beardo bit back and you all but growled at him. “We’re here to stop this festival from happening. It’s an insult that us Humans have to give up our land to some mediocre Monster music love-fest!”

“Nobody was even _using_ this field- oh my God, you- _ugh!”_

“I SUGGEST YOU HUMANS LEAVE BEFORE I ALERT THE AUTHORITIES.” Papyrus stepped past you and raised a hand towards the group; a few of them flinched and backed away, you couldn’t help but chuckle.

“What are they gonna arrest us for, huh?”

“AS OF TODAY, ONE OF THE ORGANISERS OF THIS EVENT PURCHASED THIS PLOT OF LAND AND IT IS NOW PRIVATE PROPERTY, SO HOW DOES TRESPASSING SOUND?” Papyrus smirked. “I CAN PRODUCE THE PAPERWORK IF NEED BE.” You watched, with a grin from ear to ear, as the group slowly and reluctantly lowered their pickets and quietly deliberated amongst themselves. Beardo glared at you and you glared right back at him.

“How about I go to the police with my own charges? Physical assault? How about that, creep?” You stepped forward again, closer to her assailant. “Because that’s one thing you _couldn’t_ edit out of your little video, is it?”

You felt Papyrus’ hand on your shoulder again and you let him pull you back this time. It occurred to you, as you looked at the angry faces before you, that any one of them could have sent those messages. But you also couldn’t fathom disagreeing with someone so greatly as to wish death upon them- let alone killing them yourself.  
  After a silent minute or two passed by, the protestors began to retreat out of the field. You looked on, pleased with how the two of you had handled the situation, perhaps her temper had gotten away from her for a quick second but-

“THAT WAS VERY STUPID OF YOU.” Papyrus turned to face you, his arms were folded and he was scowling down at you again, but the expression looked different this time, yet you couldn’t put her finger on why.

“Excuse me?”

“ONE OF THEM THREATENED YOU? WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO PROVOKE THEM FURTHER?” You sighed and chuckled.

“Nobody is actually going to kill me, it’s all just... hot-headed talk.” You were unsure, and from the look on his face, you could tell Papyrus sceptical.

“I DON’T BELIEVE THAT.”

“What? You think Humans just go around murdering each other?”

“WELL, DON’T THEY?”

You had no response.

  Together you walked back towards the others at the opposite end of the field, some were picking up final scraps of litter, others were milling about buzzing about doing various different jobs; everybody was smiling and laughing.  
  As they drew near the group Stella caught sight of them and waved enthusiastically, she turned to say something to Mettaton then began making her way over to the pair.

“Hello Papyrus! Have you been lending a hand to my favourite Human?” She smiled proudly at you and you blushed in response.

“FAVOURITE? STELLA, PLEASE-“

“Oh, come now, Papy, you can’t really expect to build a life up here whilst hating _all_ Humans.”

“I CAN CERTAINLY TRY.”

“Honestly, at the very least you have to admit that my Y/N here is a lovely, genuine,” Stella gently touched the underside of your chin with her fingertips. “ _adorable_ example of Humanity.” You smiled bashfully, it was hard to believe how comfortable Stella had gotten around you in what was, collectively, about six hours of knowing you.  
  If the Underground were as horrible as Papyrus had earlier implied, you imagined Stella must have been a welcome calm amidst the chaos.

“STELLA, PLEASE! I KNOW YOU ARE WILLING TO GIVE THIS PATHETIC, COWARDLY SPECIES A CHANCE FOR WHATEVER ASININE REASONS YOU MIGHT HAVE, BUT I AM NOT TO WILLING TO LET GO OF THE THOUSANDS OF YEARS OUR KIND HAS SPENT IN THAT HELL.  
  AND JUST BECAUSE THEY HAVEN’T REVOLTED AGAINST US YET, IN THE SHORT YEAR WE’VE BEEN HERE, DOES NOT MEAN I AM WILLING TO RISK THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT BY LETTING MY GUARD DOWN.” Papyrus grunted angrily then proceeded to walk away. Before he could get very far, however, you stepped into his path;

“Hang on, I won’t stand here and let you talk about the Human race like that; no, we’re not perfect and you wouldn’t find me, on any other day, defending us like this but I think it’s incredibly unfair of you to hold an entirely new generation of Humans accountable for the hardships that Monsters have endured-“

“ _HARDSHIPS?_ YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT!”

“That’s not- my point is- my point is not what Monsters have suffered, I’m aware that it is incomprehensible to me, but you have to think about how the Humans who exist _now_ feel about it! The vast majority of the people on the surface had no idea about the war, and are still trying to deal with this information.” Papyrus’ expression softened ever so slightly, you didn’t notice though, you only sighed, exasperated.

“Yes, a lot of Humans are still sceptical about this new world, but there are a lot of us, world over, who are _sorry_ , we are so sorry... We just want to make it right by welcoming you, and helping you with this new life. I haven’t known you for very long, Papyrus, but you helped me that day, after my interview with Stella. When an idiotic lunatic ambushed me, you stepped in and you helped me.  
  Have you asked yourself, if you hate Humans so much, what happened in that moment to make you stop and defend me? But you can keep being bitter if you want, see how that treats you!” You were breathing heavily, having scarcely taken a breath during your rant. And without realising it your shoulders had bunched up around your ears, hands balled into fists. There were was a single tear threatening to roll down your face, but rather than reaching up to wipe it away, you chose to hold your ground and keep your eyes fixed on Papyrus’.

  Papyrus threw a look in Stella’s direction, who just shrugged her shoulders and smiled nervously. He directed his attention back to you, your righteous glare was unflinching. He stared at you for a while, looking you up and down. After what felt like an eternity he turned and walked away, pulling something out of his pocket, when he held it up to his face you realised it was a cell phone. You couldn’t hear what he was saying but he was gesticulating wildly.  
  Stella appeared at your side, offering a comforting smile.

“Am I wrong?” It was no use asking another Monster. No matter how sweet Stella was on you, you knew there would always be a bias in opinion.

“Well,” She began hesitantly. “I understand where you’re coming from, and to an extent I agree; it’s not your fault that Monsters were driven underground, but the way we lived down there is... Unforgettable- unforgiveable. Papyrus, Undyne and other members of the royal guard led a particularly... hellish life. To think that we were forced to live like that fills my insides with a bitter fire.” She raised a hand to rest on your shoulder. “But I also believe that both Humans and Monsters have to work to make this better- we can’t expect our lives to improve by hating you.”

Annabelle smiled half-heartedly; amidst the storm of anti-Monster and anti-Human arguments flying around, at least there was an island of sense out in the ocean of controversy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know we're only five chapters in, so I don't know if anyone's noticed but all the chapters are song titles. even this one which just seems like a random word.  
> The lyrics of the particular song don't necessarily reflect the content of the story, it's literally just the title.  
> Here's RANT by Bo Burnham: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjEvIPe5a3hAhWxUBUIHSopAJcQyCkwAHoECAwQBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D6hCQLEIWadk&usg=AOvVaw0ejyCIvVXMp8T6mT6hwTy_
> 
> This is a nice, extra long chapter that I hope doesn't bore people, so if you got to the end; thank you for reading, why don't you stick around for more of whatever is going on...
> 
> No, but really, the other chapters averaged at like 2.5-3 pages, this is seven and a bit. wtf.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally this was going to be a oc-insert story, but my hands were writing something completely different.
> 
> So this chapter is just the set-up, not much else to say other than I hope you enjoy this story and thank you for reading the first part.  
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


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